Sitges - Dia Viente

A little beach, a little laundry, a little sweeping and mopping, a little lunch, a little wine, a little nap, a little walking, a little shopping, a little chatting, a little sitting.

 

Sitges - Day Nineteen

Beach day! Laundry day!

 

Barcelona And Osmosis #3

11,293 steps for Katie and me today. As Katie says, "That's a lot of steps for two people who didn't want to walk much." Jorge headed to Barcelona way before us, leaving around 7:00am, and exploring modern architecture in Barcelona. Katie and I were quite lazy and left the piso around 10:00am. We wanted to shop for shoes for me at El Corte Inglés, but that was a bust. They have more online than they do in the store. Katie got some makeup and then we headed to El Born and went to Nomad Coffee Lab. This is a SERIOUS coffee spot. They take their coffee with SERIOUSNESS, not sugar or cream. You had better know what you are doing and what you want when you come in here. Katie and I both had classico espresso which was likely a major disappointment for the barrista. We obviously did not appreciate our coffee. We liked it. Very good rich, earthy, full bodied espresso. Our next stop was the Palau de la Música Orfeó Català. I want to take Nick here when we are in town as I am sure he will appreciate it. English tours are every hour from 10:00am. We then walked back to Placa de Catalunya to catch the 24 bus back to Gracia and Arago. We had taken the 24 bus down to Placa de Catalunya. Each of these bus trips save a lot of walking on my plantar fasciitis heel. We then walked over to Osmosis for lunch. Descriptions will follow.

MENÚ MIGDIA · MEDIODIA · LUNCH

PRIMERS · PRIMEROS · STARTERS

Foie micuit amb poma a la vainilla

Foie micuit con manzana a la vainilla

Foiegras micuit with apple and vanila

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Crema de peres amb mató i seitó

Crema de peras con “mató” y boquerón

Pear cream with fresh cheese and anchovy

o

Saltat de múrgules,olives i guatlla

Salteado de colmenillas,olivas y codorniz

Mushrooms sautéed with olives and quail

 

SEGONS · SEGUNDOS · MAIN COURSES

Llobarro amb xalotes

Lubina con chalotas

Seabass with sweet onion

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Arròs de peix de roca amb pèsols,llagostí i llimona

Arroz de pescado de roca con guisantes,langostino y limón

Rockfish rice with green peas,prawn and lemon

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Costellam de xai amb dàtils i espècies

Costillar de cordero con dátiles y especies

Lamb ribs with dates and spicy

(We had a cheese course.)

POSTRES · DESSERTS

Panacota d’orxata amb vainilla i albercoc

Panacota de horchata con vainilla y albaricoque

Tiger nuts milk panna cotta with vanila and apricot

o

Tres xocolates

Tres chocolates

Three chocolates

Sitges - Day Seventeen

I am now walking with a cane. A trip to the Chinese store and 4.95€ took care of that need. Surprisingly a cane does make a difference by taking a little pressure off of my left foot. I spent the entire morning with my left foot elevated after hurting it walking downstairs to go to Cafe Roy.It is a cloudy cool day here and we had lunch inside at El Castel. Nice lunch at a non-beachfront price. 12.50€ for three courses and wine. Katie and Jorge started with spinach tortellini and I had ensalada de queso cana de cabra. Katie had a skirt steak and Jorge duck. I went with calamari. Flan for dessert. I followed lunch with my foot up some more and, surprise, a nap. Then it was off the the Chinese store, the wine store, and the bread store.

 

Can We Talk Neuropathy?

I suffer from chemo induced neuropathy in my hands and my feet. My hands are not to bad, sensitive fingertips and pain only when I hit something hard with my fingers. My feet are a different matter. The ball of my foot is almost constantly tingly, my toes are sometimes like that but often numb feeling, my heels are occasionally tingly. And on this trip, add a bout of plantar fasciatis, in my left heel. Put these together and I am frustrated by it being sometimes painful, always uncomfortable to walk. And, what do you do when you are on vacation in Stiges, Barcelona, Paris? Walk.
I am upping my intake of ibuprophen and thinking of picking up a cane at the Chinese store. The ibu should help reduce inflamation and the can will take pressure off of my heel. This morning coming down stairs I stepped a bit to the side on my left foot and a sharp pain shot from my heel up my leg and into my calf. Not fun. I also read that I can get a heel cup of some sort. I'll have to track that down. The neuropathy numbness and tingling I just have to continue to live with. When I see Melody and she uses the Ondamed I do get neuropathy relief. I'll be back in Chicago in June.

Sitges - Day Sixteen

Dia Internacional de la dansa. They weren't dancing in the streets but they were on a stage below the church. The dancing went on all day long. I was there mid day and then again late in the day. I saw kids and adults, Catalan dance and flamenco. I left when they went into country western - Amics de Country was performing.

We bought steak this morning and I made dinner of entrecote and patatas bravas. Katie made a delicious salad, and we had a nice Priorat I scored for under 6€. A delicious meal. A low key day for all of us.

 

Heading Home - Well, Some Of Us!

We saw Mary and Aliza off today on the Mon Bus. Jason left us yesterday and Jorge joined us yesterday. Katie and I did grocery shopping this morning and included a trip to a monthly slow food farmers market in Retiro Park. We sampled and bought cheese, chocolate, honey and BEER! Locally made, tasty craft beer. I tried a dark malty one and an IPA and bought the local equivalent of a growler - a 750ml. It is very good and the only tasty beer I have had in Spain. They have a local outlet where I can refill my bottle. At the local market I scored some organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and as someone into daily doses of apple cider vinegar this was another good find.